


Fate has no expiration date

by convexxed



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Romance, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-12
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-10-18 02:37:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10607553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/convexxed/pseuds/convexxed
Summary: Kyungsoo believes that his spontaneous encounters with the Cute and Tall Guy with the Glasses and the Dazzling smile aren’t just coincidences, and he’s also sure that he’s his first true love.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for No One Dies This Time, published in August 2016. Kind of an oldie and a rare display of extreme fluffiness.

Life was nothing but a series of linked events we conveniently called coincidences (or so Baekhyun had said over a mouthful of fish the other day) but Kyungsoo is sure that this is more than just a mere _coincidence_ because this is the fourth time in eight weeks that his poor infatuated being and the Tall and Cute Guy with the Glasses and the Dazzling Smile have stood within a radius of 15 meters from each other, and Kyungsoo forgets how to breath every single time. Turning oxygen into carbon dioxide isn’t usually such a hard task and Kyungsoo sometimes feels like a poor excuse for a decent human being, especially when Tall and Cute Guy with the Glasses and the Dazzling Smile is around. 

Maybe he should’ve been a plant. (But he was so lame he’d maybe end up choking on carbon dioxide instead.)

Maybe he shouldn’t have turned his head away when their gazes locked, and he was sure he looked like a madman when he ducked his head as he crossed the street when the red light turned green. And he was also pretty sure that he and Tall and Cute Guy with the Glasses and the Dazzling Smile had accidentally bumped shoulders on his frenzy to get away and salvage the remnants of his sanity.

 

\--

 

Kim Jongin was his name, but Kyungsoo still liked to call him Tall and Cute Guy with the Glasses and the Dazzling Smile in his head because that’s what he was. He should start calling him by his name soon, though, because his mother didn’t spend nine months carrying him in her womb and carefully picking his name for Kyungsoo to come and call him whatever he wanted. 

_Kim Jongin._

He tries saying it and the name easily rolls off his tongue, the tingling sensation lingering on his mouth reminding him of vanilla ice cream on a hot summer day and the warmth that fills him up is akin to drinking hot chocolate during winter. He briefly wonders what the Tall and Cute Guy with the Glasses and Dazzling Smile aka Kim Jongin smells like, and then has the decency to stop this madness and mentally scolds himself for being a creep.

Is it weird to have a crush on someone Kyungsoo’s never spoken to? Kyungsoo hopes not, because his crush on Kim Jongin is big, fat and borderlines on infatuation already. He hasn’t told anyone about this either because he doesn’t’ want to be laughed at, and he’s embarrassed enough to have been subject to one of Cupid’s experiments of love at first sight. 

“Are you coming over for pizza later?” Soojung asks, tapping at her phone as they walk down the halls with a pen tucked behind her ear. “Baekhyun and Jinri are coming over too. Taemin doesn’t think he’ll make it, though. What a bummer.”

“I can’t, I’m going to the library. I need to do some research but eat some pizza in my behalf, will you?” Soojung looks up from her phone and smiles, and Kyungsoo returns the gesture.

He’s known Soojung since they were four, and somehow they ended up at the same university struggling to keep up with their classes, assignments and social life and trying not to fall behind. Unlike Baekhyun, she does believe in fate and would probably encourage him to take the initiative and talk to the Tall and Cute – Jongin. She’d encourage him to talk to Jongin. 

Fast forward a couple hours and Kyungsoo is making his way to the library, a new shot of caffeine already running through his system and his bag packed with books as well as his phone and earphones. He walks in and goes to his usual table, but then his gaze falls on a familiar head of messy locks and then a pair of sleepy eyes framed by black rimmed glasses and his heart jumps. He could recognize this person anywhere, any day.

The object of his affection is right there, sitting alone and reading his way through thick books (he’s got a pile of them already and Kyungsoo can only think of the Leaning Tower of Pisa) yet he can’t bring himself to say hello. If he did, though, then he and Jongin could share a table and Kyungsoo would ask Jongin to tell him about the books he’s reading –he just saw a tooth on the cover of one of the books, and now he wonders if Jongin is attending or planning to attend dental school.

Their kids would have the best set of teeth in town.

He shakes his head to get rid of the intrusive thoughts about children and teeth and sets his stuff down before finally taking a seat, picking the chair that gave him a clearer view of Jongin. If only he could see him from up-close instead from afar, one of his goals in life would be fulfilled and he’d have something other than his grades to be proud of. Jongin is the literal embodiment of perfection and also Kyungsoo’s very first love –he’s had a fair share of crushes but none of them could compare to his infatuation for Jongin and his glasses.

He spends the next couple hours skimming through books about art, filling his head with dates and facts and names until his eyes grow tired and he deems this the perfect moment to go back before he pulls a Van Gogh and cuts off an ear, and he has to admit that he’s proud of himself for not letting Jongin’s presence distract him too much from his assignments. He did steal a few glances at the boy, just to make sure he was still there and hadn’t left him all alone at the library (though there were plenty of people in there), and he can’t help but wonder how many hours of sleep he usually gets.

Once he’s done shoving art books into his bag and making sure his apple didn’t get smashed underneath their weight he casts one last and longing gaze at Jongin whose hair is still messy from frequently running his fingers through it and has ink smudged on his chin, and as he walks away he makes a promise to himself that someday he’ll be sitting next to Jongin and wiping the ink off his face.

He doesn’t see it, but Jongin’s gaze follows him all of the way until he’s out of the library.

 

\--

 

Jongin is in the midst of folding clothes when an invisible force compels him to look up from the pile of rose pink blouses he’s currently working on (they have _Bad Girl_ printed on metallic letters on the front, they’re hideous) and his gaze falls on a small group of people walking by, and it takes him only a second to recognize the guy in the forest green sweater. 

_It’s him. Definitely him._

He doesn’t know his name but he’s seen him around, almost everywhere he goes: across the street waiting for the light to change, the train and even at the library, which leads him to the crazy conclusion that they must be connected by fate. Even his fortune cookie had predicted it: _”The love of your life will appear in front of you unexpectedly!”_ The fortune said, and Jongin certainly wasn’t expecting to see today the Artsy Guy with the Heart-shaped Lips since today is a Saturday and he’s at work yet there he is, chatting with his friends and laughing at something one of them said.

Would it be weird if he came over to him the next time he saw him at the library and said he’d seen him at the mall the other day? Or if he asked what was that joke his friend said that made him laugh? He doesn’t even know his name so yes, it probably would be very weird to just come over to him and expose himself as some sort of stalker –he kind of was, but all their encounters had been unplanned. Besides, if he were a stalker he would know everything about the Artsy Guy with the Heart-shaped Lips and he knows close to nothing.

He knows that he likes art and is probably majoring in it because he’s seen him reading through books about postmodernism, expressionism, cubism and surrealism. And he’s seen paint smudged on his hands and neck too.

He knows what train he takes home because it’s the same one he takes, but they get off at different stations; Jongin usually gets off first, so he doesn’t know exactly how far the other lives. 

He needs a name to match the face, but he doesn’t know how to find it out.

Jongin goes back to folding shirts after sparing a last glance at the group of friends that is now walking away from the store, and hopes that the fortune from his cookie has no expiration date.

 

\--

 

Kyungsoo’s life would be so much easier if he had the actual guts to talk to Jongin, but the problem here is that he doesn’t and therefore he inevitably ends up spending his days daydreaming about him and his glasses and his dazzling smile that makes his heart do leaps that could put to shame the National Gymnastics Team. He’s also caught himself thinking about how gorgeous their babies would be until he remembers that neither of them can get pregnant and calls himself out for his weirdness. 

Jongin is seated at a table with two guys he assumes are his friends while Kyungsoo is waiting for Baekhyun to show up (he texted him about ten minutes ago that he was almost there), and when Jongin gets up to presumably use the bathroom he feels tempted to do the same just so they could maybe bump into each other and he could pretend to be surprised by the sudden and absolutely unplanned encounter. Then they would get married and live happily ever after.

“I’m so sorry I’m late. I saw a cute dog on my way here and had to stop to pet him.” Baekhyun explains as he pulls a chair and plops down there with a sigh, smiling at his friend afterwards. Kyungsoo blinks at him and returns the gesture, lightly shaking his head and oh, he inevitably glances towards Jongin who’s talking to his friends again and showing them something in his phone and –Kyungsoo’s heart skips a beat.

His phone case is none other than van Gogh’s _The Starry Night_ –but it’s so much more than just a painting; it is Kyungsoo’s _favourite_ work ever and his crush seems to like it too. Maybe next time he sees him at the library he should ask him about his phone case and hope he didn’t purchase it simply because he liked it or to seem smart. Although, if that were the case, Kyungsoo would gladly teach him a thing or two about van Gogh.

“What are we looking at?” Baekhyun asks, leaning over the table and trying to find where Kyungsoo’s attention is directed. A party of three gets up from a table at the other side of the room and begin to make their way towards the door, and Baekhyun narrows his eyes suspiciously. Meanwhile, Kyungsoo’s heart is about to burst because _his_ Cute and Tall Guy with the Glasses and Dazzling Smile Who Also Probably Likes van Gogh just glanced in his direction and he swears it wasn’t an accident. He knew he was there (probably). “He’s cute,” says Baekhyun, and then Kyungsoo’s head falls forward and a loud noise follows when his forehead hits the table. “What’s wrong?”

“I think I’m in love.” And no, Kyungsoo isn’t joking about this because he believes that his crush for Jongin has gotten out of hand and turned into real, pure and unadulterated love for him. Baekhyun clucks his tongue and murmurs something to someone else, presumably the waiter, before poking Kyungsoo’s head. 

“Who’s the unlucky one?” Baekhyun asks, causing Kyungsoo to lift his head only to shoot him a glare that doesn’t affect his friend at all. Baekhyun is just teasing and Kyungsoo knows that, but he feels suddenly hyper aware of everything like his emotions, the teasing from the other and the people leaving the restaurant and walking in, just to name a few. “Come on, spill it out already.”

“Did you see the guys who just left?” Baekhyun nods.

“I certainly did. One of them looked in our direction, actually. Is that him?” Kyungsoo nods and drops his head onto the table again, although this time in a much more delicate manner. “Are you going to tell me about him or what?”

“His name is Jongin and I think he’s taking pre-dental courses.” Baekhyun remains silent, as if to encourage his friend to keep talking. “I’ve seen him at the library reading Biology and Oral Health books.”

“You’ve _seen_ him? Please elaborate.” Kyungsoo bites his lower lip, a tad embarrassed by his confession. This is the first time he talks to someone about his crush on Kim Jongin, and now he realizes he might’ve needed some time to mentally prepare for this and for whatever Baekhyun had to say to him.

“I’ve seen him at the library surrounded by piles of books when I go there. Don’t think I’m some kind of creep who follows people around because I’m not.”

“That’s debatable. You could be, for all I know.” Baekhyun earns a pointed look from Kyungsoo, who heaves out a sigh and finally sits up, and Baekhyun notices right away the red patch on his forehead where it hit the table. “Tell me more about him.”

“There isn’t really much to say, though. I’ve… never really spoken to him.”

“You’ve never spoken to him?”

“Nope.”

“How do you know his name?”

“I asked the librarian.”

“And you claimed not to be a creep?” Kyungsoo opens his mouth to protest but Baekhyun is right; if he were to talk to Jongin he’d probably come off as a creep to him and they wouldn’t marry and have their happily ever after. “Anyway, did you say you thought you were in love?”

“I’m pretty sure I am, yeah.” Kyungsoo confirms, grimacing at what the answer to the following question might be, “Do you think it’s weird?” Baekhyun shrugs and thanks the waiter when he brings over the appetizers. Kyungsoo just bows his head.

“Falling in love with someone you’ve never spoken to but seen around isn’t weird at all, but asking the librarian for his name is. I mean, normal people usually talk to their crushes and flirt and then ask them out on a date. Don’t tell me that staring at him from afar is romantic because it isn’t.” Kyungsoo dips a mozzarella stick in the sauce then pops it in his mouth, shrugging at Baekhyun’s comment.

“It’s romantic enough for me. Besides, I’ve been seeing him everywhere I go, it can’t be a coincidence! It must be f–”

“No.” Baekhyun interrupts, pointing a mozzarella stick at Kyungsoo and narrowing his eyes at him. “Don’t say the F word.”

“Why don’t you believe in _fate_? Maybe we are destined to be together.” Kyungsoo leans over the table and bites the extreme of the mozzarella stick, flashing his friend a smirk as he sits back.

“It’s not that I don’t believe in it, it’s just that people just leave everything to fate and sit there waiting to win the lottery without having bought a ticket or find true live without even lifting a finger.” Kyungsoo bites his lip, Baekhyun remains impassive. “Maybe you two are indeed destined to be together but you’ll never find out unless you actually do something about it.”  
Following Baekhyun’s advice, later that day Kyungsoo purchases a phone case identical to the one Jongin had at the restaurant, and promises to talk to him next time.

 

\--

 

Jongin can’t believe his eyes when he boards the train and his eyes immediately fall on the pair of hands holding a phone whose case is identical to his, and he’s considering to ask someone to pinch him because the one holding the phone is none other than the Artsy Guy with the Heart-shaped lips. If he’s dreaming then he’d like for this to last a little longer, thank you very much. 

There are enough empty seats for Jongin to take and stare from afar at his crush, but he decides to gather all his courage and be bold today. So he takes a deep breath and makes his way over to where the other is seated, plopping down beside him with a soft huff and a hopeful heart.

“I like your phone case.”

Kyungsoo is so immersed in his conversation with Soojung he barely registers that a person has taken the seat next to his or that they’ve spoken, and once he realizes that the words were probably aimed at him he finally looks up from the phone screen and it’s then that time stops for Do Kyungsoo. It’s Jongin, the Cute and Tall Guy with the Glasses and Dazzling Smile himself, and he’s talking to _him_.

“What?” Kyungsoo asks, and immediately wishes he could go back in time just so he could say something smarter and maybe seem less shocked by the fact that his long-time crush was actually talking to him. Jongin simply smiles and patiently repeats his words.

“I like your phone case.” Kyungsoo’s mouth forms an ‘o’ shape and he glances down at the phone in his hands, his brain finally connecting the dots. Now he’s supposed to smile and feign interest and curiosity, as if he didn’t actually purchase it to match Jongin’s own phone case. 

“Thanks,” he says with a smile, “it’s one of van Gogh’s paintings. It’s called–”

“ _The Starry Night_ , right?” Kyungsoo wonders then if Jongin could get any more perfect because he actually knew the name of Kyungsoo’s favourite painting ever. Could they get married now, please? Jongin shifts in his seat and reaches around to pull something out of his back pocket, and Kyungsoo has to bite back a smile when he realizes that Jongin is about to show him his phone. And he’s supposed to act surprised because, “What are the odds? I have the exact same one!”

From up close, Kyungsoo can finally see that Jongin’s skin isn’t perfect and he indeed has dark circles under his eyes, which are a wonderful shade of brown. He also notices that he keeps his fingernails trimmed and that he has the endearing habit of blinking way too much, and he’s constantly pushing his black rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose which, by the way, is also very nicely shaped. 

Jongin is more talkative than he imagined and, for a Biology student preparing for taking a mock test for some dental school (he just learned this very interesting detail about him), he says so much more nonsense than he thought was possible. They talk about their phone cases and their struggles at uni, and the more they talk the deeper Kyungsoo falls for Jongin. In fact, he could sit here and listen to him all day –which reminds him that his stop is coming and he still hasn’t asked for Jongin’s phone number. 

“Sorry, my stop is the next one but it’s been very nice talking to you at last.” Kyungsoo says, and Jongin either doesn’t hear that last part or is too considerate to call Kyungsoo out for his weirdness because he doesn’t react at all to it. “I’m Kyungsoo, by the way.”

“I’m Jongin.” But of course, Kyungsoo already knew this. “Say, can I have your number?” Jongin could ask for Kyungsoo’s shoe size and he’d gladly give it to him, but a phone number would do for now. Besides, that meant Jongin was interested in staying in touch with him and Kyungsoo would be a fool if he let this opportunity pass. Soojung and Baekhyun wouldn’t forgive him either, so he takes the phone Jongin is offering him and punches in his number, then hands back the device. He slips his phone back into his bag and stands up then, making his way over to the doors and waiting for the subway to come to a halt.

“It’s saved under ‘van Gogh.” He informs, glancing at Jongin over his shoulder and earning a wide grin in return from the other male.

“I’ll hear from you later, then.” Jongin says just as the subway stops and the doors open, and as Kyungsoo steps out he decides he’s so ready to marry this man already.

 

\--

 

“I should’ve never encouraged you to talk to that guy if I knew things would turn out like this.” Baekhyun complains to Kyungsoo as they walk towards the library, the latter sporting a sheepish grin on his face. He spent the weekend texting with Jongin and, naturally, he had to share everything with Baekhyun whom, despite his constant bad puns and complaints, kept coaxing Kyungsoo into telling him everything he and Jongin talked about. They also agreed that Kyungsoo shouldn’t tell Jongin about that time he asked the librarian for his name, or that he practically stalked him at the library during his study sessions.

They didn’t know it, but Jongin had also sworn not to tell Kyungsoo he’d purchased the phone case simply because he was hoping it would catch the art student’s eye. And it did. Now he’s decided to keep that phone case until Kyungsoo changes his, and hopefully by then he would be getting a matching one.

He’s been at the library for an hour already and deems a break necessary at this point, pushing his book away and stretching his arms over his head as he yawns. He’s exhausted and sleepy because he stayed up reading over his conversation with Kyungsoo, but he finally got the courage to talk to his crush and is therefore proud of himself for stepping out of his comfort zone and taking the initiative. 

Just then someone walks into the library and Jongin looks in their direction, inevitably breaking into a wide grin upon seeing that it’s the art student he spent the weekend texting with.

Kyungsoo makes his way to his usual table, the one where he peered at Jongin and tried to imagine what his voice would sound like and daydreamed about running his fingers through his hair, but when he looks up to glance at the spot where the other usually sat his gaze locks with Jongin’s, who’s staring back at him. He doesn’t move at first, pondering over whether he should sit there or finally grow a pair and sit with Jongin instead, but then the latter beckons him over with his hand and that’s all it takes for him to make up his mind. 

Even though this is the first time he sits at this table he doesn’t feel out of place, and to be honest he thought he’d be more nervous around Jongin but he’s never been more comfortable in his life (Baekhyun and Soojung didn’t need to know that, though). Kyungsoo sets down his bag and peers over at a grinning Jongin whose locks are a bit more tamed now although his glasses keep sliding down the bridge of his nose, and this time he’s the one who speaks first.

“You know? There’s only one thing I like more than van Gogh.” Jongin waits for Kyungsoo to continue. “And that would be you.”

Jongin beams at him and his smile is so dazzling and mesmerizing and Kyungsoo can’t help but think that yes, their kids will have the best set of teeth in town.


End file.
